


A Web of Confusion and Fear

by Rjslpets



Series: An Avenging Omega [11]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: A little bit of angst, Alternate Universe, Multi, Pack Dynamics, fluffly fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-03
Updated: 2019-06-01
Packaged: 2019-06-04 20:32:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15155072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rjslpets/pseuds/Rjslpets
Summary: Something is preoccupying Tony and the other Avengers are starting to wonder what (or who) has taken their omega's attention...





	1. Steve Rogers Worries

**Author's Note:**

> I am back!
> 
> After the angst in the fandom lately, I think a little fluff might be what the doctor ordered. It might take a few chapters, but I promise that fluff will appear!
> 
> If you are new to this series - it is nothing like other omega universes. Here, all of human society is organized into packs and some have omegas.

“I’m just worried.” Steve was punching, a thwap-thwap underscoring his conversation with Sam. “I mean, he just seems to be preoccupied.”

“Maybe it’s SI?” Sam offered from where he was stretching after their run. He eyed the punching bag, but it was not yet parallel to the ceiling, so Steve wasn’t incredibly upset. Then again, if he was that upset, their omega would be done here in a hot second. He grinned suddenly, remembering when he had believed that his mother was omniscient since she appeared in an instant when he got hurt. “Tony generally doesn’t really share about the company.”

“Nope.” Steve blew out, “Talked with her earlier this week and she was saying how well everything was going with the new CFO. And she’s in Japan this week.”

“OK, still could be SI. Maybe it’s the guys in R&D or the ones in production?” They both made a face. None of the Avengers, except for Natasha, ever had much to do with SI, but they had all heard about Production. Tony went on long rants about their incompetence that were very entertaining, if completely incomprehensibly to all of them, except Bruce. The omega had sworn several times that Production existed to make his life a living hell. The Hulk and Thor had once offered to go visit, but Tony had stopped that.

“No, he’s being quiet. I mean, he isn’t upset; it’s more like he is concentrating on something else. And before you say it, this is not his ‘I’m having a genius moment’ concentration.”

“Since he was in the kitchen this morning, getting Clint to make him French toast, it never crossed my mind that he was in genius mode.” They shared a grin at that. Although Sam had only been with he Avengers Pack for a couple of months, he had already seen several ‘genius moments’ including one where Tony had to be gently dissuaded form creating a sentient Von Neumann probe by Bruce (who was the only one of them who knew what it was and why that was such a bad idea for sleep-deprived engineer to create).

“This is generally the point in the conversation where you start telling me to go and talk to him.” Steve prodded, having finished with his boxing workout and moving on to weights.

“Take it as read.” Shot back Sam. Who was now on to stretching and thinking about a snack. “But, as usual for me, it’s the best idea.” And he sauntered out the door.

Steve wandered over to the special weight set in the corner that Tony had designed for the super-powered members of the team. As he set up the ultra-heavy weights (and in the back of his mind, he could hear Tony complaining/boasting about creating the set), he turned the behavior of the omega over in his mind. Tony had been acting strangely the last few weeks. He would spend hours peering at his tablet – which was not that unusual. But he didn’t seem to be creating anything, just watching videos. And that was very unlike him. Steve had asked casually (and he hoped subtly) what Tony was watching. But Tony had been evasive in his replies.

Of course, Steve hadn’t been subtle enough as Tony had started retreating to his lab, as opposed to working in the pack room. JARVIS hadn’t been any help either. Any query to the AI had just brought assurances that his creator was fine and there was nothing happening that needed to worry Steve. Steve had figured that he was getting a little too pushy when he found out that he had been locked out of the labs after his last clumsy attempt to figure out what was going on.

“It’s your own fault!” he scolded himself to the tune of the clanging weights. “You know that Tony has been trying to draw more lines with the Pack and you just blundered all over his boundary signs. Besides, it isn’t as if he isn’t paying attention to the Pack.” Tony was still around and available and the Pack was humming for the most part. But Steve could just tell that something was distracting the omega and it was going to drive the alpha crazy until he figured it out.


	2. A Coffee Klatch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A coffee klatch of spies pool their knowledge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So is Steve right? Is something going on? The spies are on the case (if there is a case).

Natasha scoffed to herself. They met in a coffee shop in the financial district; a holdover from their SHIELD days when engaged in an op. It really made no difference as they would probably just come clean if Tony asked them, especially if he used what Sam called the omega-puppy eyes. She played up that she wasn’t swayed by the big brown eyes. And she wasn’t, in any obvious way. But she admitted to herself that she always found a way to give the Omega what he wanted – a way that didn’t compromise her image. Come to think of it, meeting away from Tony’s gaze was probably a good idea.

“I did recon – whatever is going on, it’s not SI.” She stated confidently. Neither of the others needed to know that her recon consisted of having her nails done with Pepper before the CEO left for Japan. Natasha had learned the hard way that it was always better to just ask Pepper Potts rather than try and sneak around her.

Phil Coulson nodded, his face as serious as if they were planning a major op, as opposed to trying to figure out if their Alpha was being paranoid. He noted that Natasha had a deep burgundy polish on her nails, so Pepper had confirmed that SI was going well. Natasha tended to pick pale, almost nude shades when her talks with Pepper meant bad times. He hoped she never stumbled onto this tell, one of the very few the Black Widow had, as he enjoyed his (very few) insights into her character. Tony, of course, now had an inside line on her. This, Phil knew, often upset Natasha, but Phil had been in an omega-centered unit in the Army and he was used to having an omega know him better than he knew himself.

He was still not convinced that there was anything wrong. Steve was worried, but given the recent disturbances in the Pack, it was possible that the Alpha was just twitchy. Phil hadn’t noticed any thing unusual in Tony’s behavior and he had been spending significant time with the Omega. They had been planning an end game to Hydra as well as the Barnes situation. Tony had also confided in him the Omega’s real fears that the last space invasion was only a precursor. Phil had taken those fears seriously and had reached out to his old contacts, only to find that the world’s governments were also seriously concerned. Tony was certainly busy but there didn’t seem to be anything the Omega was hiding.

“He’s sleeping fine – or as well as he ever does.” Clint offered. And he would know. The Omega kept erratic hours and would generally wander into the bedroom of whoever was awake. Of course, their Alpha got cranky after the Omega hadn’t been in his bed for four nights and had to be placated. But Tony hated sleeping with Steve. Actually, Clint corrected himself, Tony didn’t hate sleeping with Steve, he hated the fact that Steve was a morning person. If Tony wandered into the alpha’s bed at 3 am, it didn’t deter Steve from bouncing out of bed at 5 am to go have a run. Since Clint went to bed late and stayed in bed late, Tony tended to wind up in his bed a lot. And the Omega had been free of nightmares and had even been keeping to his self-imposed schedule of going to bed before dawn.

“So, the question is whether there is something we are missing…” Phil started

“Steve is just being paranoid.” Finished Clint.

“Tony is spending a lot of time on some kind of project.” Natasha contributed, “I’m not sure what it is but it’s not SI. Pepper was annoyed that he was late on something because of it. Whatever it is, it isn’t confined to the workshop. He’s been working on it during some of the evening activities.”

“He has been on his tablet a lot lately, but we have been working through the backlog lately.” Phil used their nickname for the list of things that Steve and Thor needed to know. The last few movie nights had been dedicated to movies of the 1960s (Phil was enjoying this run, unlike the Clint-inspired run of old Godzilla movies). “So it isn’t surprising that he is working instead of watching.”

“He was mostly running through YouTube videos.” Natasha pointed out, “I only caught glimpses and they didn’t seem related to anything.” She shrugged off their looks; she was observant by nature and she couldn’t turn it off. Besides, Tony had been watching random videos, just clicking on whatever interested him.

“OK, so we don’t really have any evidence that Steve is on to something. But let’s not give up yet. We’ll keep an eye out and meet here in a week.” Phil decided (and it was nice to have these meetings with his two former assets. Felt like old times).


	3. Flying Secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now, we hear from Thor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am back! I had an insane amount of traveling for work so my writing went on the skids. So here is a short chapter to get me back in the groove.

Thor alighted on the upper floor of the Tower. He landed lightly, congratulating himself on not causing any damage to the omega’s building. Asgard was a much more…resilient place apparently, in terms of building codes. On Midgard, he had learned, he could not just place all his weight down upon landing. It tended to damage the buildings and annoy the residents. Mjolnir made a slightly aggrieved noise at this and he patted her. She liked the ‘strum and drang’ (how expressive some mortal languages are) of the full-on entrance of the thunder god and was a little disgruntled at the constant reining in. “Have no worry my love, we are going flying today!” he said to her.

After the incident with the Omega being left alone in the tower and the sad state he had been in when Thor had arrived, the storm god had been trying more to be present. His presence became more imperative when he realized that he was the only one of the Pack who could really accompany the Man of Iron when he wished to take flight above his city. True, the Falcon had superb wings, but they mostly were designed for gliding and not for the acrobatic flights that Tony truly loved. Thor, however, would match the mortal for height and feats of flight. True, the Omega would not fly with Thor in the face of the magnificent storms of this planet (last summer was the first time that Thor had enjoyed the wonder that the Pack called a hurricane – a truly awe inspiring flying experience), but the fun of having a companion in the sky outweighed that.

Tony hurried out onto the roof to meet Thor. At last it was time for flying!  The Pack tried as hard as it could do accommodate all his needs, but none of the rest could truly fly with him. He had flown with Rhodey on the colonel’s brief times back in the States, but that meant calming the Pack down (Omega Brain grumbled in the back of his head and Tony shushed it, although he agreed that Rhodey was just being pigheaded at this point). As a result, Tony rarely got to just go flying in the suit. Not the kind of stunts that he could with Thor at least. And he had some other activity in mind; a reconnaissance of sorts that he certainly wasn’t interested in sharing with the Pack. He pulled down the face mask and levitated off the roof, yelling as he went, “Last one to the Empire State Building has to clean the dishes!”

People on the streets stopped and stared, pointing to the sight of Iron Man and Thor together. They slipped between buildings, barrel-rolled over the Brooklyn Bridge and skimmed the Hudson around Staten Island. They zoomed under the Hell’s Gate Bridge and circled the great globe left over from the World’s Fair. Tony paused to hover over Flushing Meadows for a bit before turning back to Brooklyn. They looped several times over the Cross Bronx Expressway and waved at the drivers who were stuck in traffic. Tony felt a bit bad about that since he was well aware that he and Thor were not helping the traffic at all!

Thor laughed into the wind as he followed the Man of Iron. Certainly, the joy the omega had in flight was infectious, reminding Thor of his own long-ago youth when flight was wondrous and new. Of course, he knew that this was not simply a flight for flying’s sake. The Man of Iron was a _jarl_ of the highest rank on Midgard and it was only right that he survey his territory. Here was a duty that Thor understood in way that the rest of the Pack did not. Sometimes, the Omega needed to check for himself on how the city and certain of its inhabitants were.

Thor had not mentioned to anyone but sometimes Tony stopped to chat to someone. Thor was aware that none of the rest of the Avengers would have permitted this, but he was the son of a ruler and knew that sometimes, rulers must step outside their usual activities.  There was a pattern to Tony’s flights. There was always a quick check over the area called Hell’s Kitchen. Brooklyn was carefully considered, partly, Thor believed, to contribute to the well-being of the alpha. Then of course there was Queens. This was the most common stop for the Omega.  Even if he didn’t stop, he always wandered close enough to see someone. The person, dressed in red and blue, traveled in a method that was unique in Midgard, flinging ropes from building to building. Thor was not sure how he was doing this, but it looked like fun. Tony said he was a neighborhood hero and certainly he was young, too young to move beyond his small world. Thor approved of Tony keeping an eye on the youngling.

He was more concerned by the red-costumed person that Tony occasionally spoke to in Hell’s Kitchen. That one seemed more ferocious and Thor, although he was not human, was uncomfortable having the Omega too close. Tony always hovered to speak to this one that he called Double D with his usual impertinence. They would spin out from there, speaking to various other local heroes who lived in the city. Both female and male. But Tony was careful to never exit the armor with any of these and to stay far enough away so that Thor could assist. Therefore, he held the Omega’s confidence and never mentioned the visits to the rest of the Pack.

When they landed on the roof, Tony bounced out of the armor, leaving J to take it back to the workshop. He was sweaty but noticeably more calm thought Bruce as he came over to greet Thor and the Omega. “It must have been a perfect day for flying with the sky so clear.”


	4. Thoughts From the Deep Green Pool

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce probably knows Tony better than anyone and he thinks that something is going on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! The way this story is going I had to do some world building that slowed me down.

Bruce was aware that his relationship to the Omega was significantly different from pretty much all the other Pack members. He and Tony had been friends before induction unlike everyone else. And they shared a level of intellect which could be said of very few people in the world. His mind flowed easily with Tony’s although their expertise differed. Anything he could think of, Tony could build but he wasn’t as comfortable with the theoretical, and meat sciences were way outside his zone.  Bruce had pursued advanced degrees in theoretical physics and his work during his travels had given him the equivalent of an MD (Hulk in the deep green pool in Bruce’s mind grumbled about “shiny, noisy thoughts.”). Sometimes he considered submitting work for a PhD in nuclear medicine or one in chemistry – after all his work that created the Hulk (and trying to eliminate the Hulk) could be spun into many dissertations.

Then there was Hulk who Tony treated as a full member of the Pack and insisted on everyone else doing so too. This had often made Bruce uncomfortable in the early days, but now, he was adjusting. Faced with Tony’s insistence, Bruce found he could ‘hear’ something of Hulk in his head and he began to pay attention. Of course, that was after the Omega pointed out that Hulk got all the emotional intelligence in their relationship, even if he left Bruce with the science smarts. And by listening to that green rumble, Bruce had learned some surprising facts about the other members of the Pack.

It was Hulk who pointed out that Thor often needed to act free of the constraints his Asgardian strength imposed on him in Midgard. Of course, Bruce understood there was some self-service here, since Hulk loved to smash Thor whenever possible. But Tony had backed up Hulk on this one. So now, Bruce tried to go out with Thor to an old ordnance proving ground that Tony owned at least once a month for a throw down. His relationship with Natasha and Clint had improved dramatically also, once he noticed when Hulk muttered about fear-smell. Who knew that fear was almost impossible to maintain around someone baking chocolate chip cookies?

So, when Hulk murmured worriedly about the Omega, he listened. Hulk wasn’t always specific or easy to understand as he lacked the language skills to explain complex emotions. Bruce was left to observe and deduce, and luckily, a good scientist hones such skills. He moved himself down to Tony’s workshop, setting himself up on a suspiciously clear table. He didn’t even need an excuse, since during the seclusion after induction, this had become standard operating procedure, and he watched Tony.

And for the last few days, Tony had been very preoccupied. And it wasn’t anything he was building. In fact, he didn’t seem to be building anything. This pinged both Bruce and Hulk’s radar since a Tony who was not happy but not working was unheard of. The last time that had been true was during Steve’s recovery from the disaster in Washington. The Omega had been completely distracted, even when he was in the workshop. But whatever issues had been raised by that shitshow between the Alpha and Omega were, at least, in abeyance at the moment. Bruce wouldn’t call anything resolved, but a tentative status quo was holding. And if none of those papered over issues was upsetting the Omega, what was it?

With all this in mind, he worked in Tony’s workshop. He always greeted each of the bots on entrance, wondering if the enthusiasm for greeting people was because they were sociable or a clever way of making sure Tony knew someone was in the workshop.  As he set up the assays and the experiment began to run, he watched Tony. Tony was spending a lot of time glued to his tablet which was an anomaly in the workshop where his holoscreens were freely available. He would occasionally call out to JARVIS with commands and questions. Soon, Bruce realized he was tracking something on cameras, traffic cameras, NEST and Ring cameras and any other closed-circuit visual systems that JARVIS could find. There was a sense of tension on Tony’s side of the room, but not an emergency. The Omega was keeping an eye on a situation and it was important, but he was not planning to intervene. After about 30 minutes, Tony relaxed his vigilance and swung back into standard building mode.

Over the next week, Bruce saw this behavior frequently. Tony was working, but he was also tracking something. Then on the eighth day, events took a surprising and informative turn. Tony was deep in the armor when JARVIS spoke “Sir, there is a situation developing that meets the intervention protocol.” His tone was urgent and still possessed all the calmness the British voice customarily displayed.

Tony seized a tablet and, a minute later, let out a curse. “J. get me Backup 1 and send Backup 2 a message.” JARVIS confirmed, and Tony continued glued to the tablet, muttering under his breath and occasionally demanding that JARVIS get him another camera angle. Bruce drifted closer, trying to remain unobtrusive. He also told the Hulk to calm down since the Omega wasn’t actually in trouble, at least none Big Green could assist with, and he didn’t want to press the Omega when a crisis was on. However, Tony obligingly told JARVIS to throw what was on the tablet up onto holoscreens.

The screens hanging in the air around them showed the low resolution of street level cameras, occasionally interspersed with higher resolution cell phones and digital cameras, all creating a composite of a fight on the streets of New York City (although Bruce did not know the city well enough to know where). A slim figure, who seemed to be hanging from a wire, was fighting with a group of armed people. Since none of the armed people wore uniforms or acted in a coordinated manner, Bruce deduced that they were probably engaged in some type of criminal activity. The swinging guy (and where were they producing that wire from and what was it made of? Bruce unconsciously began running chemical compounds through his mind, looking for something with enough tensile strength and flexibility to perform the way he was watching.) was doing alright, but whoever it was, they were outgunned and wildly outnumbered. The fight teetered on the edge of going very wrong.

Then what appeared to be a tank in the shape of a man showed up. He plowed through the back of the group of criminals, scattering them and giving swinging guy a chance to regroup. The newcomer was a black man, almost as wide across as he was tall. And by what Bruce could see, he would give Steve Rogers a run for his money (“Puny! Hulk bigger.” Came the thought from the green pool; Bruce absently agreed). Between the two of them, the criminals were quickly subdued, and the swinging guy repurposed the wire to wrap them up (“OK, they must be keeping it in a liquid form and then producing it – like spider silk? I must get some of that to test!” “Shiny thoughts too LOUD!” The last part was all Hulk). Both of the street heroes faded away as the police cars pulled up.

Once the dramatic scene had played to its conclusion, Tony shut the screens down with a gesture and blew out a sigh, “J., pull up the Spidey project. He is gonna get himself killed.” He turned to Bruce, “I guess you have questions?”

Bruce shrugged, “A street hero and, based on your concern, I would say very young. Given that, I think you keeping an eye on things and calling in backup is hardly surprising. But I don’t know why you haven’t mentioned this. You can’t think the Pack would be unhappy with it? I mean, I assume that the kid doesn’t have a Pack.” Which seems kind of obvious because what Pack would allow someone young, and Bruce could only guess how young from Tony’s worry, fight crime on the streets without Pack backup? Although swinging guy must be enhanced somehow (and Bruce’s mind once again sparked with chemical compounds, causing a complaint from Hulk).

“There really hasn’t been a good time to have chats about street level heroes that need watching out for lately. Thor does know, since I generally check up on everyone during our flights – always in the suit and with the scent guards.” There was an uncomfortable pause, “Except with the kid. The kid knows.”

Bruce was nodding; he could definitely see the problem and was looking ahead, “So you’ve been connecting them to each other, and arranging for the kid to have backup. I noticed that they seem to have coms.”

“They’re all street-level and mostly local. Spidey loves Queens and pretty much stays there. The others also stay in their lanes – some in Harlem, one in Hell’s Kitchen – pretty much all over the city. All of them packless and most on their own. I’ve been introducing them…”

Bruce felt the stir in his mind, echoing the Omega’s need to protect, “Tony, I don’t have an issue with this and neither does Big Green. But I do think you need to tell Steve. Especially, if any of them are starting to become even loosely affiliated with the Pack. I’m not much of an expert on omega-based packs and how they operate…”

“I could ask Sam; he’s got the most experience with an omega pack. And Coulson would know how it works with a war pack. Frankly, I’m not sure that Steve would know anymore than I did. Whatever, Howard was to the Howling Commandos, I _know_ it didn’t involve any type of pack tie.”

“But you have to tell Steve soon. I know it is awkward right now, but he really needs to know.”

Tony sighed, pinched his nose, but nodded.


	5. Kin and Kith

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony talks to Phil and Sam

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a lot of world building here and I hope that it is interesting without being too distracting. Most of the delay was coming up with some of the concepts in this chapter so please let me know if it works.

This was one for the record books, thought Tony. Phil turned out to be a broken reed when it came to Pack dynamics other than a War pack. When Tony posed the issues of how to integrate members into a pack that didn’t actually live in the same place or for when the pack was not the primary bond, the agent was stumped. The Omega didn’t blame him; he was at a loss too. Tony had only dealt with members who lived in his orbit and with the intense bonds of an Omega War Pack and apparently so had Phil. But Tony was so stunned at the idea that Phil didn’t have an answer that he just sat staring at him.

It was Sam who broke the moment, “You want to have kith bonds?” Both Tony and Phil swiveled to stare at him. “What? You have heard of kith bonds? You know…when the pack ties are at a remove in an omega-based pack?” They both continued to stare at him and he sighed, “Look, you know that my Mama’s an omega? She’s the only one in my family and when she married my Dad, my entire family changed.”

The therapist went on to tell them about the changes an omega caused in his family. The core family was pulled closer by the intensity of the nature of an omega pack bond. Sam spoke of his grandmother (his father’s mother) who had come to live with them after the early death of her husband, to help with the children. She had accepted what Sam called a kin bond, which was what the Avengers had. He went on to explain that the kith bond is what most of the family had. His aunts, uncles and their children were all kith-bonded, as well as being part of their own primary family packs. As he spoke, both Tony and Phil began to see how the introduction of an Omega slowly changed all the bonds around them, as everyone re-oriented to the Omega. It was Sam who pointed out that Pepper, Alpha of the Stark work pack, obviously had a kith bond to Tony since she was comfortable in his presence and gave him her loyalty. Through that kith bond, the entire Stark work pack was essentially linked to Tony.

Tony of course had no clear idea of how any pack worked as he had limited experience with packs in general, and Phil (other than his ordinary family pack) had been in war packs which allowed only kin bonds due to the intensity of the military environment. But Sam had grown up in a family-based Omega packs. Most of his family had multiple pack bonds with the intensity of the Omega bond always in the background, so he was used to the idea of holding multiple bonds. In fact, as he finally pointed out with a full eye roll, he actually carried TWO omega pack bonds; the main one with Tony and a still-potent one with his family.

Sam explained the complicated world of kin/kith bonds. There were so few omegas packs in civilian life that even Phil could be forgiven for not knowing how it worked. The children of omega-led packs would always carry a bond. It began as a kin-bond and then settled into a kith-bond as the children grew up and developed their own families. Although there could also be a continuation of the kin-bonds with spouses being inducted into the main omega-led pack.

“Like the Bakker pack!” Tony said, and Sam nodded.

“There are particularly possessive omegas who prefer to keep kin bonds as far down the generational ladder as they can manage. I’ve heard of the Bakker pack – and I wouldn’t recommend emulating that.”

Tony laughed and said, “Given the nature of the kin bonds I have, I’m not sure I could manage that many people! But, seriously, how do I know who should be kin and who should be kith?”

Sam shrugged and said that his mother just seemed to know. “For example, I’m now kith, but my sister’s husband, Mike, accepted a kin bond when he married her. I guess because they live close and his family pack isn’t omega-led. But then again, my sister and my mom have always been close.”

Phil mused, “I wonder. I know that omega traits don’t seem to follow family lines so it isn’t that. One of the great mysteries of science. But who were you thinking of bringing in, Tony? I think that would clarify the type of bond.”

“The Spiderling definitely needs a kin bond.” Tony answered decisively, “He is so young, and I can’t detect a really strong Pack bond on him.”

“Considering that you are already tracking him and sending assistance, I was assuming that.” Phil replied. “I’m not sure about the others. The Devil down in Hell’s Kitchen for example. I can’t see any of us allowing him to have a kin bond and Steve might balk at even a kith one. If Steve even knows what that is. And that guy known as the Punisher is right out.”

Tony shrugged, “I can’t incorporate every super into a single pack. I’m not looking to rule the world. I am going to offer Jane funding and get her to New York and offer her kin bond. Not just because of Thor either. She was the one who really fixed the problem when I was alone in the Tower. And Brucie and I could always use another scientist to increase the nerd factor here.”

Phil twitched. Reminders of that time always unsettled the Pack. Omega Brain, who had been contemplating slapping Phil when he failed to present an immediate solution to Tony’s question, now switched to being concerned and then progressed to angry when the memory of the incident came to the forefront of Tony’s mind. Tony pointed out that neither Sam nor Phil had even been in the Pack when he was left alone. But that just led to Omega Brain becoming even more furious that they hadn’t been in the Pack at some point. Tony abandoned the effort and just patted Phil’s knee.

“What about Darcy?” Phil asked. At Tony’s blank look, Phil continued, “She is Jane’s handler and best friend. If you want Jane, you’re getting Darcy. I’m not sure that Jane could survive without Darcy at this point.” Tony shrugged; he would see what this woman was like, but he was pretty sure that any person that Jane and Thor liked would be fine.

“OK, that means Jane, Spidey and Darcy for a kin bond and then maybe some others for a kith one. I was thinking of Luke – he’s down in Harlem.” He added at the blank looks from Sam and Phil. “Sam, do kith bonds happen the same way as kin bonds? Or no, that couldn’t be right – must be a lot less intense.” He answered his own question, which was good because Sam pointed out that he had been born into his bonds and had no real idea.

This still left them at something of a standstill. Tony could go and ask Thor to tell Jane and Darcy that they had an invitation to join the Avengers Pack, but what about the others? Tony was adamant that he wanted a kin bond with Spiderman whose identity he still refused to divulge to anyone. But he was stumped on some of the others. True, he had been coordinating among them, introducing street level heroes in New York to each other to facilitate their activities. And he had done some high level networking with some of the other hero groups, such as the Fantastic Four. But a relationship between Richards and Tony would NEVER fit into a pack bond of any kind. In this case, Omega Brain was fine with all of them and even liked Sue and Johnny, but Tony found Richards impossible on a good day, and there were few good days.

There was also that group out in Westchester, but Tony had only spoken to them via email. Omega Brain was not happy about even that much contact without their Alpha nearby, which made Tony suspect that there might be an omega somewhere. No, Tony was content to have his problems limited to the New York area. Groups outside of the city would have to look after themselves. Omega Brain pointed out that Phil could talk to these groups, as long as he did it from the safety of the Tower. Tony couldn’t figure out what the idiot Brain thought would happen to Phil but he had finally learned that there was no rationality to be had with his instinctual level of his own mind.

“I can try talking to Dr. St. Andrews. Maybe he has some experience in this area?”

“If you need to, I can ask my Mama to talk to you.” Sam offered.


	6. Let's Ride!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something is happening and alphas aren't invited.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, my writer's block is relenting a little so I am going to try Anonhouse's method and go with little short chapters.
> 
> I hope you are ready for a little angst and a lot of fluff

The whole situation came to a head on an innocuous Wednesday morning. The day was a welcomed break, as the Avengers Pack had been unusually busy.  With getting rid of Hydra, trying to find the Winter Soldier, and dealing with an increasing number of weird situations, the idea of a day with no abnormal issues seemed liked a vacation on Tony’s private island. As the thought occurred to Tony, Omega Brain immediately began clamoring for a retreat for the Pack – they were working so hard and, look, Clint was worn to the bone. Tony, trapped into another internal argument, pointed out that Clint was sleeping because he had stayed up all night on a Twitch stream for Mario Kart and, no matter what Omega Brain said, Tony was not going to be concerned about the archer. Although, a vacation was a good idea.  At that moment, the tablet he was holding gave a distinctive rumble. It was a non-verbal signal from JARVIS that something was happening. His confusion over why JARVIS was secretly signaling him disappeared when he absorbed the message from the tablet.

The Omega jumped to his feet. “Bruce! Meet me downstairs in five minutes. JARVIS, please have Happy bring the town car around – I want to be discrete. No, Steve, you may not come with me, but Phil will be useful.” The Omega swept from the room without any concern for the spluttering of the Pack’s Alpha or even looking to see if Phil was following him.

Phil turned to look at Steve who looked torn between running after Tony and acceptance. “Go with him, Phil. This must be Pack business and it won’t do any good for us to argue about it.” Natasha spoke up from her place at the counter. She continued, looking at Steve, “Don’t go after him. The Omega doesn’t want the Alpha messing in whatever he is up to and he IS taking Bruce and Phil.” She added, after listening to Tony racing down the hall, “And apparently Sam as well. He must need administrative competence and emotional intelligence.”

Steve raised his eyebrows at her and asked, “And Bruce?”

She shrugged, “Could be scientific or medical? Or maybe he just wants the potential of invulnerable backup, so you don’t fly off the handle?” She then broke down and grinned at him. “But we both know he doesn’t want any alphas shoving their weight around.” Steve grinned back, still concerned about Tony but enjoying an alpha moment with Natasha. It had taken them awhile to get to this level of ease. Besides, Steve had realized (he could hear Tony’s voice saying, “Finally!”) that he should trust the Omega to fulfill his responsibilities to the Pack. If Tony didn’t want him for something, then Tony didn’t need him and Steve could wait.


	7. Over the Bridge or Through the Tunnel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Having hurtled themselves after the Omega into the car, they are all wondering what they are doing going to Queens

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am working through my writer's block following Anonmouse's excellent suggestion of short chapters. So here you go...
> 
> BTW - I am sticking with the comic's Aunt May so she is quite old.

They settled themselves into the back of the town car that Happy had waiting at the special entrance that the Pack used. Tony was still on his tablet and called out to Happy to head to NY-Presbyterian Hospital in Queens. He started to argue with the driver about the best route, whether the tunnel or the bridge and Happy shut him down with a snappy "Am I driving or you?"

Bruce looked up at the word ‘Queens” and, nervously rubbing his glasses on his shirt tails, asked, “Is this about the person we watched in your lab. Tony?”

“No, his aunt – the one he lives with. She’s dying.” The answer was short and distracted but contained enough information that Phil immediately began looking for more. He was assisted by Jarvis who provided the name, May Parker and confirmation that she was admitted at the hospital. He asked Jarvis to access the medical records if possible and share them with Bruce and called the hospital.

“Yes, I am calling about a patient, May Parker?” he paused, “No, I am not calling for information on her condition. I am bringing an Omega relation to visit and want to ensure that she is housed in a suitable room.” He listened again to the voice on the other side, “She is not part of an Omega Pack. She has a kith bond which is not required to be listed in records.” He was quiet, listening again and then he spoke with a crisp, annoyed accent, “I am bringing an Omega to visit a dying woman, you will make sure that she is in a suitable room to accommodate the visit. Good and now please transfer me to Billing.”

Sam leaned towards the Omega, pulling Tony's attention from the tablet, “Tony, can you give us some more information on what we're walking into? I understand that someone is in the hospital and I gather that the situation is bad…”

Bruce interrupted, “She has stage 5 ovarian cancer – she’s dying.”

“OK,” Sam took a deep breath, “so we're going to a death watch. Is there anyone else with her?”

“Her nephew, Peter. He’s just a kid and he’s great. A really good kid – you’ll like him?” This last was delivered a little uncertainly, as if Tony had just realized that he had swept them all into this without any consideration or information.

Sam smiled at him, “I’m sure we will. How long has she been at the hospital?”

“About three days, but she’s sinking.”

Sam nodded at this, “How old is Peter? I’m guessing pretty young?”

“16.”

“And there is no else?” At Tony’s head shake, Sam turned to look out the window with a contemplative look on his face.

Tony glanced around the car and felt Omega Brain put aside the worry about Peter and take a moment to approve of his Pack. Phil was showing off his competence, having dealt with the hospital, he had moved on to the horrible details of an impending death. Sam was obviously preparing himself to emotionally assist the teenager who was sitting at the deathbed of his only surviving relative. Bruce was watching Tony, waiting for whatever task the Omega needed. They were there to support him and to do whatever was necessary.


End file.
